PORTLAND PARKS FOUNDATION 2021 U. S. BANK PARKS CHAMPIONS The Portland Parks Foundation mobilizes support to improve Portland’s system of parks, natural areas, and public spaces. We help people We accomplish this mis- help parks. sion through delivering leadership, partnership and funding that advances a commitment to excellence, accessibility and good stewardship of our parks. Our primary partner is Portland Parks & Recreation. RANDY GRAGG JESSICA GREEN Board Executive Director Program and Operations ADAM WILSON Director ADENA LONG BOB GANDOLFI CRISTIN O’BRIEN LISA SANMAN JERIC QUILIZA JACK JEWSBURY Development Director Program and Operations JONATHAN NICHOLAS Associate JR LILLY JULES BAILEY JULIE VIGELAND KAREN KERVIN KIA SELLEY LEE NOVAK MAJA HARRIS MARTINA BIALEK MARY ANNE CASSIN MARY RUBLE MELISSA NAITO PATRICIA FROBES RICH GEORGE SILAS SANDERSON SUBASHINI GANESAN-FORBES SUZANNE BISHOP VICTORIA SCHWOEFFERMANN ZARI SANTNER Our annual U.S. Bank Parks Champion Awards recognize individuals who provide outstanding volunteer service to a park, community center, natural area, or community garden. PPF will make a grant of $1,500 on the recommendation of the honorees to a community organization that aligns with PPF’s vision to help Port- land communities create more equitable access to nature, play, health, and places of connection. Nominations were made through an online form open to everyone and promoted through the foundation’s email newsletter and social media accounts and direct outreach. They were accepted between February 2021 3 through March 19, 2021. Thank you to our sponsor U.S. Bank and partner Portland Parks & Recreation. We had 48 nominations this year. To those who submitted nominations, thank you. To those who were nominated, we recognize the thousands of hours you put in to support your communities and parks and recreation areas. We also recognize there are thousands more amazing volun- teers that aren’t listed in this book. Thank you to all of you for your commitment to creating more equitable access to nature, play, health, and places of connection. We received nominations for volunteers contributing the following activities to our communities: • Service spanning decades to places like Leach Botanical Gardens, Columbia Children’s Arboretum, Mt. Tabor Park, Lan Su Chinese Garden and Terwilliger Parkway. • Place justice advocacy in North Portland working to revitalize George Park and downtown. • Reimagining what public space looks like with community-led design and edu- cation programs at the Boise Eliot Native Grove. • Advocating for recreation and programming and creating a sense of belonging through biking and soccer and hiking. • Providing safe and inclusive educational and healing opportunities in nature for BIPOC community members. • Maintaining parks and public gardens through pulling weeds, cleaning up debris and invasive species in places like Marquam Nature Park, Portland Japanese Garden, the Lilac Garden at Duniway Park and Forest Park. • Cleaning up trash and graffiti and increasing safety in Laurelhurst Park, the Pearl District and Waterfront District. • Assisting community members to grow their own food by providing accessibili- ty and supplies and general support. • Advocacy for accessible playground equipment and park improvements all over the city. • Creating and maintaining free, accessible youth recreation programs and edu- cational opportunities in our parks to youth with a specific focus on youth of color and low-income communities in places like Lents Park, Brooklyn Park, Tanner Springs, Whitaker Ponds and the Columbia Slough Watershed. • Managing countless volunteer groups and inspiring others to form new friends groups in places like Argay Park, Mt. Tabor Park, Tryon Creek State Natural Area and Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden. PARKS CHAMPIONS 05 Nominees 01. Allen Field | Sewallcrest Community Garden WHAT THEY DO Allen has managed the Sewallcrest Community Garden for more than ten years. He coordinates work parties and plans fun events, secures compost and other supplies, gives seasonal garden advice and information, communicates garden needs and concerns, and facilitates inter-garden communication. He helped secure funding for the Community Garden program, which acts as a food lifeline for many. FOR MORE INFO https://www.portland.gov/parks/sewallcrest-community-garden 02. Andrine de la Rocha & Howard Patterson | Boise Eliot Native Grove WHAT THEY DO Andrine & Howard imagined, designed, and organized the creation and maintenance of the Boise Eliot Native Grove, a native pollinator pocket-park in their inner-urban neighborhood. They transformed a vacant lot into a flourishing native plant haven in an historically Black neighborhood, providing education, play, art, and native habitat 6 for neighbors and wildlife to enjoy. Throughout the process, they’ve engaged dozens of students from Boise Eliot and The Ivy School, worked with local community groups to design and install a bench, and installed educational signage, art by neighborhood children and a variety of native habitats. FOR MORE INFO https://www.nativegrovepdx.org 03. Aubrey Russell | Neglected planters and greenspaces in NW Portland and more WHAT THEY DO Aubrey makes visible changes to neglected and overgrown City landscape areas. He rescues flowerbeds and public spaces all over NW Portland. Aubrey is quiet, sincere, and determined to leave beauty wherever he goes. He’s on a mission to make Portland more beautiful one flower bed at a time. He inspires others to get involved, including teenagers. 04. Benjamin Tarne | Brooklyn Park WHAT THEY DO Benjamin Tarne created and runs the Friends of Brooklyn Park (FOBP) organi- zation that puts on the free summer youth program at Brooklyn City Park. Benjamin established FOPB when funding for the Brooklyn neighborhood’s summer youth program was cut. He plans the fundraising efforts, does community outreach, builds relationships with local businesses, plans and develops FOBP’s online and social media, and works with Portland Parks and Recreation to ensure our youth have a place to grow, play, and discover. With Benjamin’s leadership he has brought back the SYP with support for the community and local businesses. The program contin- ues to provide youth with healthy games, activities, and crafts; teach them the value of community; and take responsible care of our community resources. Having this program is essential to Brooklyn and families that don’t have the means for paid summer camps and programs. FOR MORE INFO https://www.friendsofbrooklynpark.org 05. Bill Bannister | Forest Park WHAT THEY DO 7 Bill is a Rapid Responder and an Independent Volunteer with the Forest Park Con- servancy, meaning he reports trail damage and other issues and can work without a staff member present as long as there’s open communication with staff. He helps the organization and staff in a number of ways, both with regular volunteer duties and in ways that are above and beyond. “Having Bill around feels like having anoth- er colleague on our field staff team – when we need him, he’s there; and he’s there and helping even when we don’t realize we need his help until later.” - Forest Park Conservancy Staff Member. FOR MORE INFO https://forestparkconservancy.org 06. Cesar Huerta | Tryon Creek State Natural Area WHAT THEY DO Cesar creates community amongst stewardship volunteers for the Eco Crew pro- gram while also helping improve plant diversity and trails at the park. Over the previous two years Cesar became a leader of fellow stewardship volunteers, coming early, staying late and always welcoming individuals and making sure they were hap- py during their volunteer time at Tryon. His accomplishments went beyond regular volunteer tasks -- he helped build a welcoming community of volunteers. FOR MORE INFO https://tryonfriends.org 07. Christie Quinn | Lents Park and more WHAT THEY DO Christie operates The Bookmobile Babe, a nonprofit bookmobile for children, and distributes free books to children around the Portland metro area, especially at Lents Park. She uses books written mostly by BIPOC or women authors with diverse charac- ters, with many books being in other languages. Over the past year, she has distributed more than 500 books to children. FOR MORE INFO https://linktr.ee/bookmobilebabe 08. Dan McLaughlin | Crystal Springs Rhododendron Garden WHAT THEY DO Dan has offered his services as a volunteer for more than 10 years and now man- ages the garden, representing the Portland Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society. Dan has supervised projects, served as the liaison with Portland Parks & Recreation, motivated and inspired the other garden volunteers, helped manage the garden’s website, supported the care of the garden’s plants, and successfully transi- 8 tioned the annual in-person sales events to an online campaign in 2020. He provides a welcoming approach to visitors. FOR MORE INFO https://www.crystalspringsgardenpdx.org 09. Darlene Chirman | Leach Botanical Garden WHAT THEY DO Darlene has worked tirelessly to restore a habitat above the formal gardens at Leach, including pulling blackberry and other invasives and planting native plants. This sort of restoration work is really hard, but can transform a degraded slope into great habitat and useful parkland. The restoration work that Darlene does will help the plant and animal species of the Johnson Creek watershed flourish and will provide a place for Portlanders who live far from the more well-known parks to enjoy the respite of nature. FOR MORE